Quote Originally Posted by cchardwick View Post

By the way, I don't use paper substrate with my retics and chase the mess every few days like most people. I use a thick layer of coconut husk substrate, maybe 4 inches deep. I only have to clean out the tub every 6 weeks. I spot clean probably twice a week. Works great. And I never have to scrub down the tub like I see everyone do, the coconut husk keeps all the mess separated from the plastic tub, I just remove the coconut husk and lightly spray and wipe down the tub. Usually I just scoop it out by hand followed by using a vacuum cleaner for the rest, spray wipe and fill it back up with fresh substrate. It's a monster tub about five feet wide and takes a whole 10 pound block of Reptichip, so it costs me about $17 per month. Big rats don't cost that much either, I'd say maybe $3 each from a local breeder, I'd say you are looking at about $30 per month to house and feed a large snake like this (about $360 per year). You can use cheaper substrate and come out ahead but you will be doing a lot more labor compared to coconut husk. I'd rather pay the extra money and not have to chase the mess all the time. My retics are as low maintenance as my ball pythons with my setup.
That is a really interesting strategy. "litter box" maintenance is one of my main concerns re. retics, i'll definitely be keeping this in mind when the time comes.